


Caring for a thing like you

by thanks_google



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Klaus Hargreeves Whump, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, M/M, Multi, Pansexual Klaus Hargreeves, Sick Klaus Hargreeves, Sober Klaus Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:29:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25614355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanks_google/pseuds/thanks_google
Summary: A bad car accident leaves the family torn apart with what they would call grief, but they haven't really lost someone physically. Emotionally, mentally, Klaus feels entirely broken and in need of support from his brothers and sisters.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, Dave/Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 10
Kudos: 375





	1. Chapter One

Five was the first to wake up, feeling relatively okay. Everything seemed to work, and he had a little pain, but nothing he couldn’t manage or ignore. 

Then something occurred to him.

Klaus. 

After undoing his seatbelt, Five turned his head slightly to where Klaus was clearly unconscious, head on the cracked passenger seat window, blood… everywhere. 

“Klaus? Klaus you have to wake up.” Five leaned over to his brother, shaking him slightly. Klaus stirred. “Klaus, wake up, we have to get out of here.”

“Yeah’m’wake.” Klaus’ eyes opened, mostly. “What happened?”

“I’m guessing we crashed.” Five looked forwards and saw a lorry crashed in front of them, their bonnet crushed almost into them. 

“Where are we?” 

“Middle of nowhere. Emergency services aren’t going to be here for a while.”

“Lorry driver?”

“I don’t know, must have fled… Are you okay?”

“Me? Yeah’m fine. R’ou okay?” 

“Yeah, just a few cuts and bruises. Look, I think I can teleport us out if you can hold onto me.” Klaus reached his hand out to his brother, which Five took. 

After a moment, a blue light flashed and Klaus and Five appeared on the ground behind where the accident took place. They both were laying on the floor, breathing heavily. 

“I’ll call an ambulance.” Five hesitantly stood up, pulling his phone from his pocket, and began to walk away. 

“Klaus,” Ben called. “Tell Five. You have to tell him.” 

“’m fine.” Klaus was hurting… a lot. Everything hurt, absolutely everything, especially his head. It was like he couldn’t find words. 

“You are bleeding from your head, Klaus. You have to tell him. He can help, or do something.”

“-Told you, ‘m f-fine”

“I’m being serious, Klaus. There could be something seriously wrong with you.”

“B- en, ’m fine.”

Klaus’ vision blurred in and out, and he had a terrible pain across his head and limbs as he sat up, fighting the urge to vomit to the right of him. 

“They’re on their way.” Five came closer as he said it, really worried about his brother. 

Klaus turned to his side and coughed, a chunk of blood spitting out when he did so. He quickly wiped it off so neither Ben nor Five would see what happened. But Five did. 

“Hey, you okay?” Five asked, with genuine worry to his voice.

“’m fine. You’kay?”

“I’m okay. What happened?” 

“I-on’t know. I can’t -member anythin...” 

“Wha- what do you mean?” 

“I don’t- I- I mean, ’m’sure s’nothing.” 

“Klaus, this is bad,” Ben worried. “This could be really bad.”

“What do you remember?” Five was obviously just as worried as Ben. “What were we in the car for in the first place?”

Klaus thought for a moment. Then another. And then a couple more. “I- I… I don’t’ow.”

“Jesus, Klaus, this is really bad.” Ben rubbed his fingers down his face. 

“What do you remember about the apocalypse?” Five started pacing back and forth. 

“Uh… ‘azel and C- Ch Cha, and th’war, ‘n… Dave.”

“What about Vanya? What do you remember about Vanya?” 

“S- sh… she played ‘e violin… and we…” Klaus thought. And then he thought more. Then he made his head hurt more by thinking more and more and harder and harder. “... I don’t… know.”

“Uhh, don’t worry, it’s fine.” Five sighed, worried for his brother, what this meant for the future. “What do you remember about before you left the Academy?” 

“Dad… the m- ma- mauso… soleum… the missions.”

“Can you remember all our names?”

“Lu- Luther, Allison, Va- V’nya… Ben, Five…” Klaus stopped. Not because he wasn’t sure, but because he was done. And he knew he was done, that he hadn’t forgotten anyone, that he wouldn’t forget his own family. 

“That’s it? That’s all you remember?” There was an element of sadness in Five’s voice, something which Klaus didn’t often hear, and it unsettled him slightly. 

“Oh, God, Klaus. This is bad, this is really bad,” Ben worried, worried more and more every time Klaus spoke. 

“Wh-... did ‘miss someone?” Klaus was confused, and scared. Really scared. 

“Diego, Klaus. What about Diego?” 

“D… Dee- Diego?”

“Number Two, you’re brother. Diego.”

“Ohh, fuck. Wha- what?” Klaus was confused and scared. Really scared. Moreso now than ever. Five leaned his hands on the back of the car, while Klaus now had his back against it. 

“Klaus, it-”

“Y’not let me forget D- Da- Dave. Never. S’too special.” 

Five went to answer, but stopped when he could hear sirens in the distance, getting louder. “It’s okay, they’re going to help.”

Klaus was beginning to panic, silently, but Ben knew him inside out, knew he was struggling. “Klaus, it’s going to be okay. You’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to go through this on your own.”

Five moved forward from where he was, kneeling in front of his brother. “Klaus, the ambulance is here now, they’re going to help. I promise.”

As three ambulances pulled up in front of them, Five stood up and walked himself over, presumably trying to explain what happened. They came over slowly to Klaus with all sorts of medical equipment, attending to him appropriately. 

They asked him questions, some of which he knew the answer to. Too many times, he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, how deep he thought, some things just couldn’t come to his head. 

He knew, for example, his full name, his address, even his blood type. However, he couldn’t recall his birthday, how this accident happened, amongst many others. 

The paramedics also began to notice his speaking and listening skills continued to fade as he made less sense. 

Five was up and standing, seeming absolutely fine, though they did want to take him in to make sure everything was going okay. 

Klaus on the other hand… was not going so great.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His family are finally there for him when he needs them most, but they realise things are going to be pretty difficult from now on

Klaus didn’t dare open his eyes, He could hear his family around him, moving and talking. 

“We don’t want to freak him out with someone in the house that he’s convinced doesn’t exist!”

“He’s my brother, I want to look after him.” 

“Diego, he doesn’t even know who you are. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s a lot of us, a big house, a robot mother, an ape butler. Don’t you think that’s enough to be getting on with without a person he can’t remember?” 

Klaus peeled his eyes open slightly, so they were only open into slits. All eyes turned on him, as well as a couple of doctors or nurses, and someone he couldn’t quite recognise. 

Vanya rushed over, holding his hand. “Hey, Klaus

“V- Va- Vanya?”

“Yeha, it’s me. We’re all here.”

“Y- Yo- Y- c- ca- can-” He gave up, words just not forming in his mouth.

“Do you want to try writing it?” Allison asked, aware of his struggle. 

Cant gyt red of my just yete.” Okay, so the words didn’t work properly on the page, either. 

“No, not yet,” Luther laughed. 

“F- Fi-.” Klaus gave up again in trying to get Five’s attention, so instead held his hand up with five fingers. 

“Yeah?” Five saw his brother trying to get his attention. 

“T- th- thank y- you.”

“It’s alright, you’re my brother, I have to. I’d have Diego hating me forever if I didn’t find a way of saving you.” Diego lifted his head from his chest. 

“D- Di- Dee- Go?” The name was familiar, like a distant memory. He could remember it from the crash; Five was trying to get him to remember. 

Diego came and stood steadily in front of Klaus. “Hey, bro. I’m Diego, your brother.”

“M- my br- brother?”

“Yeah,” Five explains. As he points to the corresponding people, he continues, “There’s Luther, Diego, Allison, me and Vanya.”

“B- Ben.”

“Ben, he… he died.”

“N- No I- I know. He’s h- he’s here.”

Ben gives a little wave towards his brother, sat in the corner with a book. “Hey, Klaus.” 

“H- hey, Be- Benny.” 

“You can see his ghost?” Luther asked, slightly confused. 

Klaus simply nodded, taking his glance away from Ben and towards Five again. “Y- you o- ok- ay?” 

“Me? Yeah, just a couple bruises.” Five had his classic and classy side smile. 

A nurse came in, a smile on her face. “Hargreeves? Visiting time’s over, I’m afraid. You can come back tomorrow. Best come one at a time, don’t want to scare him too much.” 

The family began to leave, when Vanya stopped for just a moment. “Leave a light on, he doesn’t like the dark.” After giving her brother a smile, they all left, and Klaus was alone with a nurse. 

“Hello, Mr Hargreeves. My name is Alice and I’ve been looking after you. When you came in we ran a brain scan, and I’m afraid it does look like you have some brain damage, which are likely to affect a range of things in your life, I’m afraid.” 

She had an English accent, which Klaus tried to focus on instead of thinking about what she was saying, or the fact she was surrounded by ghosts. 

“We saw in your notes that you are recovering from a drug addiction, so we have put you on slightly different pain management than we would have liked, but all is working well. 

“Things might be a little confusing with memory, which has been affected by the incident. Things you would have no problem remembering before may seem completely out of your mind, which is completely understandable. You have a very supportive family ready to take care of you in whatever way they can.”

“Our aim is to get you home as soon as possible, but we want to keep you in for a little while for observation. Your speech will get better with practise. There are a few things you can do to help with memory, such as making boards of information you need to know and forget, but you will find out what works best for you, as it is different for everyone. 

“I promise you Mr Hargreeves, we are doing everything we can.”

Alice gave a smile, before leaving the patient on his own. She didn’t know he was surrounded by ghosts, including Ben. “Heyy, Klaus.” Klaus simply held up the HELLO palm of his hand. 

“Try and get some sleep. I’ll try and make the ghosts shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it! Next chapter will be a bit more interesting


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still in hospital, the Hargreeves family work to support their brother.

Klaus had no problem listening to those orders and carrying them out. He was out pretty quickly, and only woke up a few times, to which Ben calmed him down and read him back to sleep. 

The next morning, his family came in, though one at a time. Luther came when he was still asleep, and left when he was asleep, also. 

Diego came in next. 

“Hey, buddy,” he said calmly, sitting down next to his brother’s bedside. “It’s Diego, I’m your brother.”

“D- Dee- a- ay- go?” 

“Yeah. I know it’s weird because I’m just a stranger to you, but I’m your brother.”

“I- I’m s- so- sorry.” 

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault.” Klaus’ eyes drifted open and shut, almost closed. “Hey, it’s okay. Get some sleep.”

When he woke up, Allison was by his bedside, holding his hand. “A- All- Ally?” 

“Hey, Klaus. How you holding up?” 

Klaus really was too tired to speak, so wrote in the notebook. 

'Ive hed owrse ODs'

“Yeah, I bet you have.” She smiled. “But, I wasn’t there for you then. I’m sorry.” 

'Its okya you hed clare to lok aftre' 

“Yes, but I also have a brother to look after… you remember her name?”

'Looks liku et'

“Hey, I brought you some eyeliner, and some nail polish. Luther left a sketchpad and pencils, but you were asleep.”

'Ben sais hellu'

“Well tell Ben I say hello, too. Say thank you for looking after you when I couldn’t.”

'Clare!'

“You’re not going to make me feel not guilty about it, Klaus.”

Klaus looked into the corner of the room, where someone was standing. Someone dead. A hole in his head and eyes black, another hole in his stomach. His eyes widened as he realised who it is. He turned to Ben. “I- is he?” 

“The guy that crashed into you? Yep. I guess he died.”

“Klaus? Is everything okay?” Allison asked. 

“Y- yeah. J- just goa- ghost.”

“What ghost?” Klaus grabs the sketch pad and pencil from beside his bed and draws a sketch of the man he sees. 

When he’s done, Allison turns to the corner of the room, where the man is standing. She half expects to see a torn apart man, but there is nothing. 

'can yuo do my makuep plaese'

“Absolutely, but then I need to go, Five’s next.” She leaned to get the eyeliner, and put it on him, and then painted his nails a deep ocean blue. 

“T- th- thank y- you.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be back tomorrow, okay?.” She smiles as Klaus nodded, and left. 

By the time Five came in, Klaus had lost his voice, and didn’t want to talk anymore. 

“Hello Klaus,” he sat down on the chair next to the bed. Klaus held up the HELLO hand. “Well that’s about the only thing you can spell.”

Laughing slightly, Klaus wacked Five with his notebook. 

'yuo are rihgt thuogh.'

“How you doing?”

'tired'

“How long are you in here for?” Klaus shrugged. “So, I read in the paper that the guy in the lorry that we thought ran off was dead. 

'i know his goast is in thi croner'

“Really? I didn’t know it was that fast. Interesting.” 

'im sure the huose is fallnig aprat withuot my'

“Oh yes, it’s very… interesting. Mom keeps making you breakfast.”

'wat do i heva?'

“Waffles. Always. It’s always waffles for breakfast… oh, you told me not to let you forget someone. Dave?”

'dave?'

“Yeah, I think he’s from Vietnam.”

'that esplains the dog tags'

“Yeah, they’re his, I guess. Do you remember Vietnam?”

'couldnt evre forgrt it'

“Do you remember Dave?”

'parsialy'

Five looked at his watch. “Shit, better go. See you tomorrow, yeah?” Klaus smiled, waving the GOODBYE hand as he did so. 

By the time Vanya came in, Klaus was tired and beginning to take in whatever is happening to him. A tear was rolling down his face. 

Vanya held her brother’s hand, not needing him to say a word to let her know what was going through his head. More tears fell down his face. 

“Hey, Klaus. It’s okay.”

“I- it- it’s n- not o- okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. But we’re all here for you, and we’re going to help you through it.”

“Y- ye- yeah.”

They hugged for a long time, and it was special. She didn’t ask him to explain, or make him say what she wanted to hear. It was nice to just… hug. 

Klaus yawned as he lay back on the bed. His eyes eyes drifted open to closed, then forced them open again. “Hey, it’s okay. You sleep.”

“W- will y- you s- st- stay w- wit- with m- me u- un- until I- I s- sl- sleep?”

“Yes, if course.”

“T- th- thank y- you.”

And she did. She watched as her brother drifted into a deep sleep, from which he did not wake until 10am of the following morning. 

A nurse was the first person to come in. “Hello, do you remember me?” Klaus shook his head. “I’m Alice, your nurse. I’ve been looking after you for a few weeks now, and was thinking that you may be able to go home tomorrow or in the next couple of days. I’ve spoken to your family who are on board and have readied the house for your arrival. Does that sound okay?”

Klaus simply nodded, taking out the sketchbook and pencil. He drew Ben, who was sitting in front of the window, looking out at the city beyond. 

Allison was the only person to come in that day; the others were busy. “Hey, Klaus. What are you drawing?” Klaus showed her the now-finished picture of Ben. “Is that Ben?” Klaus nodded. “It’s beautiful.” 

“I’m sorry the others aren’t here today, but the nurse said about coming home tomorrow, so you’ll see them all then. Five insisted I bring this.” She held out a bag containing a Peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich, which Klaus took. 

“He also insisted I remind you about Dave, so you won’t forget him. He went to the vet office and got a photo of him and what I assume is the rest of the platoon. You’re on there, too.” She passed him an a4 photo of his squadron. Despite his memory trouble, he remembered each and every one of them without fail. 

“D- Da- Dave.”

“Did you love him?” 

“A- a l- lo- lot.” 

“I bet you miss him.”

“M- mo- more t- th- than a- an- any- anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I'll try and get the next chapter up ASAP


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus is finally coming home from the hospital!

“Are you ready to go home?” Ben asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Klaus shrugged. “Because you don’t have to if you aren’t ready.” 

“Ts’fine. T- they’ll l- look af- after m- me.”

“They will. And I’m always here.”

Klaus shot a smile to his brother, when the door opened. A nurse, Allison and Diego came in, smiles across their faces. Vanya was sat on a wheelchair which Allison was pushing as they came into the room. “Tada!” Allison exclaimed, zooming the chair next to the bed. 

“It’s just until you get your strength back up,” the nurse explained. “It’s not a permanent or constant thing. So, you can still move around, but have this at the ready for when you get tired.” 

“T-thank y-you.”

“It’s okay. If you get onto there, I think that’s you ready to go. There are some prescriptions we’d like you to pick up.”

Klaus picked up the sketchpad. ‘Hwo far to teh house?’

“Umm, not far. A mile or two, I think.” Vanya sounded confused. 

“C- can we n- not dr- drive.” Allison and Vanya looked towards the nurse after Klaus said this, for a reason, or an answer. 

“It’s completely normal to have reservations after a car crash. Maybe it is best right now if Klaus weren’t to take a car home, if your house is close enough.” 

“Yeah, it’s close enough,” Vanya said, taking hold of Klaus’ hand. 

“I’ll leave you to get ready to leave,” the nurse said, gathering a few papers and leaving. 

“You okay?” Allison asked. 

“Yeah, I- I just d- don’t want t- to g- go in t- the car.”

“That’s okay.” Vanya had a smile on her face. “Let’s get you on this thing!” 

Klaus did have some strength and energy in him, more than he had in the last few days, but he still needed a little help getting from the bed to the chair. Allison held his left hand; Vanya held his right, and they both gently guided him towards the wheelchair. 

“Ah, lavely!” Klaus exclaimed. “Already feels like home.” He put a smile on his face, even though he wasn’t particularly happy at all. 

“Let’s go!” Allison laughed as her and Vanya pushed through the door of the room and took him through the corridors. 

Reaching the fresh air of the outside was refreshing, but also brought back scary memories. He took a deep breath and they began the journey back to the Academy. 

“Sorry the others didn’t come,” Allison said. “They are at the house ready, though.” 

“T- that’s okay. ‘m here with m- my b- bitches.” Klaus laughed, and so did his sisters. 

Once back at the Academy, his sisters opened the grand double doors to reveal banners and posters and balloons. What caught his eye was the buffet and cake, more so than the sign saying ‘welcome home!’

“Surprise!” all his brothers and sisters shouted as Allison wheeled him into the front entrance. Not only were all his six siblings there (yes, Ben was there too), but Pogo and Grace were, too. He smiled a big smile, this being this most love he’d felt since Dave. 

Dave… He wished Dave could see this now. Since seeing the photo, he remembered everything from Vietnam. He wished he could be here with him now. 

Vanya gave a signal to Five, and he disappeared, appearing back with a large moodboard covered in pictures and information. “This is all the stuff you might forget, and we know you’d want to remember.” Allison’s voice was soothing. 

It was a wonderful night, they partied well into the evening, the living room turning into a state for Grace to clean up the next day. Around 1am, he was sat on the main sofa, beginning to get a little tired. In truth, he had been tired for a while, but was so sick of being exhausted that he pushed past it. 

But now, with his head leaning backwards, he felt tired, really tired. Struggling to keep his eyes open tired. Watching his family continue to eat and dance and party tired. 

Ben sat next to him, “Hey, Klaus. It’s been a great night, hasn’t it?” 

“Y- yeah.”

“If you’re tired, go to bed.”

“I- I just d- don’t wa- nt t- the n- night t- to end.”

“It’s okay. You’ve had a great night, and so have they. They’ll understand.”

“F- fair e- en- enough.” Klaus paused for a moment. “G- guys. I- I t- think ‘m go- going to t- turn in f- for t- the night.”

“Oh,” Luther turned around. “Do you want me to…”

“N- no, ‘m o- okay.” Klaus stood up slowly, taking himself upstairs to his bedroom. He climbed under the covers and slept for an hour. 

“Dad! Let me out! Please!”

“Not until you’ve gotten over your fear of the dead, Number Four.”

“Klaus.”

“Klaus!”

“Klaus!”

The ghosts screamed louder and louder with each ghost’s cry, and Klaus couldn’t take it any longer. He woke up from his slumber, leaping into a seated position, breathing heavily. Ben was sat on a chair in the corner of the room. 

“You went there again, didn’t you?” Klaus nodded. 

“T- the o- one t- thing ‘d r- rather f- forget.”

“I wish I could hug you right now.” 

Klaus put his head in his hands. “M- me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support! It's a nice feeling to have people reading and enjoying your work. More chapters coming soon!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ending! I would continue the story further but I'm honestly not liking it anymore. Hope you enjoy

“We’ve compiled a board of everything you need to remember. There’s a picture of all of us with our names, and we put the picture of Dave and the others up too.” Allison pointed towards the board hung beside his bed. 

“T- Thank you. Y- you did- didn’t ne- need to,” Klaus sat up in his bed, seeing Allison and Vanya smiling towards him. 

“Of course. We’re going to be here for you every step of the way. I promise,” Vanya reassured. 

It took Klaus a long time to adjust to his new changes to life, and it took his family some getting used to, too. Speech therapy made everything a lot easier, but there was still one thing Klaus couldn’t go back to as he did before. 

“Klaus, it’s been six months. It’s time you got over your fear.” Diego held the keys to his car. 

“I just c- can’t, Di,” Klaus replied, a tear or two gathering in his eye. 

“We’re all going to be there with you, Klaus,” Allison reassured, placing her hand on his forearm. 

It took Five just a few weeks to get back into a car, and a few more before he could drive one again. He didn’t let the others know it took him this long, because he would rather his siblings focus on his brother, the one he knew had a strong possibility of never stepping foot in another motor vehicle again.

“This is the last thing, Klaus,” Allison continued. “We have worked through everything together. This is the last thing we can do for you.” 

Klaus’ eyes connected with that of his other sister, who gave him a soft nod of agreement. “Okay,” he whispered after a moment of silence. Still looking at Klaus, Vanya smiled slightly, and so did he. “Okay.”

Allison and Vanya held his hand as he stepped into the car, and sat next to him, intertwining their fingers with his. “Just breathe, Klaus. It’s going to be okay.”

“I know, i- it’s just…” Klaus sniffled into his fluffy coat. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Are you ready?” Diego called calmly from the driver’s seat. 

Klaus took a deep breath. “Ready.”

As the car pulled away from the drive, Klaus gulped a couple of times. As his breathing came shorter, his sisters supported him, giving him comforting words. He eventually loosened his grip on his siblings’ hands, and calmed down a lot. 

He knew things were still going to be incredibly difficult, and the future was a long way away, but eternal peace is probably overrated, anyway.


End file.
